What kind of a player loves playing here? First, you gotta have an above average arm. Unlimited funds for lost discs would help. The guts of a burglar and nerves of steel are important, as well. Intermediate to advanced players should love it here. The course is long but not rediculously long. To me, the single most challenging element here were the 6-7 tricky pin placements, often sitting just three feet from the nasty, green, swampy waters. They made putts and approaches nerve wracking. And on holes 3 & 14, off the tee is an adventure as your tee off better not be 3 feet past the basket. So what does all this pressure do to a weeny player like me? It made me so tight you couldn't pull a needle out of my butt with a tractor.

The course is not overly long but # 12 Long plays 578' with the entrance road along the right side and you need to stick your drive through this narrowing gap in order to have any chance at a three. But the hole, I really liked most was # 10 from the Longs. It's 411' teeing off into a fairly, narrow window and following that the basket sits in the woods and naturally, it's set just 3 feet from the water.

# 14 is probably not that long but I'm sure it get in the head of many players. It's 291' over the pond shot, probably only a 230' carry but, but, but there are branches to avoid. Hit a branch and splash. Then add the fact that the basket just over that little hill is just a few feet from water.

With two sets of pads, the Longs and the Shorts, players have choices here. Both tee pads have signs and often give you an altogether different look. The baskets are Chainstars and the pads are nice concrete ones.

I have a question here? The basket placement on # 6 was in a cool position sitting in a small area just behind the dirt mound. But that basket set on the mound would be an extra cool position. I assume that it is switched up just for a change. I was disappointed I missed getting to play to it on the mound.

The course has a lot of cool engineering features such as bulked up areas around some baskets and the interesting raised basket on the round concrete on # 9. I understand that this course has a "course angel" who is constantly working to improve the course. You're very lucky to have this gentleman performing these volunteer tasks. Please remember to thank him when you see him around the course.

Thiis is a disc eater. Regulars must buy their putters by the dozen. Not only with the tricky basket placements but also with thick rough seemingly everywhere.

I would have loved to see the # 9 basket raised a couple feet higher. Would have been even more challenging.

I saw quite a few strong, younger players fire their discs off into the wilds. This is not great course for players with strong arms lacking basic control and also, for those players who haven't yet develop touch.

Even with the overwhelming pressure I felt, I was able to play this course, by myself, all without losing a disc. I played from a combination of the Longs and Shorts, just picking the one I thought more interesting or sometimes, just the safer choice. This is a unique course, providing more looks and crazy basket placements than probably any course I can recall. I enjoyed playing it, ONCE. I don't think I'd want it as my home course, as I couldn't afford the lost disc replacement cost. Is there a lost disc insurance policy available? Might be a money maker.

- Challenging course from the longs.
- Really fun course from the shorts.
- Nicely constructed concrete tee pads.
- The layout does not seem to favor either righties or lefties.
- Brilliant pin placement on many holes. #17, #10, #8, #2, #14 are a few that come to mind.
- I love the use of water on #14 on both the long and short tees.
- Not really a pro or a con but the elevated basket on #9 is nicely done compared to some I've seen. At the same time there doesn't seem to add much of a challenge to the hole.
- Not a lot of elevation change here but what is present is well used. #13 from the shorts is a great example. Trying to find a line between the trees up and over the hill there is challenging and fun.

- The course feels like it just isn't done yet. In particular #12 where there is some piles of dirt lining the sides of the fairway.
- Signs...where are they? There are a few arrows here and there indicating where the next tee is but that's it. No tee signs, no distances. If you are going to play here find a local to guide you around otherwise you're going to spend a lot of time hunting. There are 4x4's at each tee pad so it looks like signs will be installed soon hopefully. There are stakes at each tee with hole number but sorry, that won't help the score.
- More importantly there is a serious design flaw between #10 and #8 tee. Both the long and short tees for #8 are far too close to the #10 fairway.
- I am not particularly fond of how the #1 fairway is lined on the right side with a walking path that many non dg'ers use.

This has the potential to be a great course. Signage alone would help immensely.

I find this course to be a bit like jeckyl and hyde. On the shorts its a nice, pleasantly challenging round while the longs are a big step up in challenge. Stop by and play sometime - just be sure to bring a map.

-Definite shot variation here. Classic Knollwood sidearm bros would not succeed; you need to have multiple shots in your arsenal to score well.
-Open shots and wooded shots galore. Variety is beautiful
-Risk v Reward (as others have touched on): very prevalent here, but not in a "mean" way. Water in play on ~4-5 holes.
-Distance variation is superb here. Power drives followed by powered down drives occur multiple times.
-Love the pin placement. I think it's in the best possible spot on almost every hole. Obviously designed by somebody who knows disc golf well.
-Pro tees offer true challenge. Both tees offer challenge and fun. The way it should be.
-New baskets that shine in the sun. Glorious.
-Practice baskets right off to the side of the parking lot
-Uniqueness is here, particularly the hole with the basket behind the mound of dirt. Nice touch.

~May '13 Concrete Teepads are ready to go!

-Permanent signage would really be a plus (on both teepads would be a double plus)
-Elevation is really pretty average here. Not non-existant, but not enough to be a true factor
-Rough is a bit "rough" in spots. Time will fix this.

Not a whole lot of downside here to speak of. For me, a lack of elevation would stop this course from ever achieving a 5-disc rating, even if it was kept as well as The Masters golf course in Augusta. Tee pads and permanent signage would land this in the 4.25-4.75 range easily, but not a true "5".

That being said, this is a really fantastic layout. Pro tees would offer a real challenging tournament setting even for top pros. I love the intelligent design and design execution. Truly, those who live in the SW michigan area are DGCourse-spoiled (myself included). This course adds to that fact. GO PLAY!

- Vicksburg Rec. Area (VRA) deftly combines water hazards, woods, scrubby undergrowth, and grassy open areas to create a challenging but accessible 18-hole course suitable for a broad array of skill levels. Long tees (marked red) offer challenging lines and some significant distance for more advanced players while the shorts (white) still pack a punch in places, with trees, water, and scrub still waiting to ruin a round.
- Good use of limited elevation. Two holes (#'s 6 and 14 each have an earthen bump with a crop of trees on top in front of the basket. Several holes have slopes down into water near the basket (#3, 7, 10, 14, and 17). #'s 12 and 13's gradually sloping fairways make good use of minimal but effective elevation.
- Great use of the water. Several basket placements will more often than not leave you putting with water directly behind the pin (#'s 3, 7, 10, 14, and 17). A cute tiny little island sits in the middle of the pond on #16. A fallen tree serves as a bridge out in case anyone lands on it. Long #14 has a reasonable water carry for RHBH hyzer and a bailout zone to the left. The earthen bump-with-trees protects the pin. What you can't see from the tee is that another pond lies directly behind the basket. Advanced players taking ace runs will lose anything long, and casual players could have any number of things go wrong.
- Good risk/reward. Go for those birdies or pars, but bang it home or go fishing on many holes. Other holes (#12 from the longs) encourage pushing the distance but wayward drives are punished brutally in the thick undergrowth off the fairway. Punishment is fair, but the schule can be a handful in a few spots.
- The flow is intuitive and straightforward. Each tee is marked with a stick labeled with the hole number. Long tees are painted red and shorts are white. Practice baskets labeled #'s 19 and 20 are located near #1 long's tee.
- #18 offers a big annie or hyzer route through a patch of trees to the final basket.

- The biggest drawback is the natural tees. As of now, the tees are in okay condition; but with the amount of traffic a course of this quality will see, they'll be muddy rutted messes in no time. Already they are muddy and slippery in a few places. I assume a tee upgrade is in the works, as this is a newer course but well-deserving of concrete pads.
- Likewise, tee signage could use an upgrade.
- A few rough spots (the schule left of #12's fairway; the muddy walkway from #18 to the parking lot) could still use some clearing and maintenance (stuff that will come with time, undoubtedly).

- VRA is a solid discing option that only stands to improve with time.
- My rating reflects the state of the course on the date I played it (11/17/12) and takes into account the lack of proper tees. With a tee upgrade and a few more minor tweaks I see this course easily maturing into a 3.5-4 disc rating.
UPDATE: Concrete tees are installed (quite a while ago...sorry, forgot to update last time I was there). This course is settling in quite nicely, and I bumped it up .5 discs to reflect the positive changes.